78 
III.—CO-OPEKATIVE SOCIETIES. 
months’ continuous service. The objects of the fund are “ to 
make provision for the retirement of its members through old 
age, or incapacity caused by infirmity of body or mind, the 
encouragement of thrift, and the creation of a bond of interest 
between the Society and employees which shall be mutually 
advantageous.” Contribution to the fund by employees is, with 
certain exceptions, on a basis of 3| per cent, on fixed wages of 
over 40s. and 2£ per cent, on wages under 40s. The Society 
contributes to the fund on the basis of 2J per cent, on the wages 
of those members whd earn 30s. per week and under, and 1J per 
cent, on the wages of those earning over 30s. per week. The 
accounts of contributions are kept under separate heads and 
owned separately by the Society and the employees respectively, 
until such time as the benefits become withdrawable at the age of 
60 years, or earlier under certain contingencies, or on termination 
of service. The management of the fund is in the hands of a 
committee of eleven, six directors of the Society and five elected 
employee members, who become trustees for the investment of the 
fund with the Society. At the end of 1910 the amount invested 
with the Society was £88,398. 
The Scottish Wholesale Society, which carries on similar under 
takings to the English Society, and which employed 1,859 persons 
in its distributive and 5,752 persons in its productive departments 
at the end of 1910, adopted Profit-sharing in 1870. The scheme 
then adopted provided that its employees (all of whom were at 
that time employed in distribution) should receive a bonus on 
their wages at double the rate of dividend paid to members on 
purchases. In 1883 the Society commenced production, and in 
1884 the old arrangement as to bonus was replaced by a new 
scheme which established a differential rate between workers in 
the distributive and in the productive departments. Under this, 
the distributive employees received a bonus at the same rate as the 
rate of dividend on members’ purchases; while the rate of bonus 
to productive workers was determined by the net aggregate profit 
made in the manufacturing departments only. This arrangement 
was again revised in 1892, when the Society decided to pay to 
all its employees, whether employed in its distributive or its 
productive departments, a bonus on wages at the same rate as the 
dividend on purchases paid to members : it was required, however, 
that one-half of each worker’s bonus should be retained and placed 
to his credit in a special fund called the Bonus Loan Fund, which 
receives interest at the rate of 3 per cent, per annum. Except 
with the consent of the Committee, deposits in this Fund are only 
withdrawable after the expiration of three months from the date 
of the employee leaving the service of the Society. 
Since the establishment of Profit-sharing with the employees, 
and up to the end of 19.10, a total sum of £197,071 had been 
allotted to the employees, of which £57,892 remained in the 
Bonus Loan Fund.